Consumer Financial Protection Bureau holds stance against added payday borrower protections

WASHINGTON – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has not budged on its June decision cutting additional protections.  “There was insufficient evidence and legal support for these requirements,” CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger wrote in a Sep. 23 letter to Rep. Maxine…

‘Our North Star’: Congress mourns loss of Cummings

WASHINGTON – Rep. Elijah Cummings was fondly remembered in Washington Thursday across the political spectrum as a leader with a strong moral compass and deep commitment to civil rights as a politician in Baltimore for over 36 years. Members of…

Pelosi sets formal impeachment inquiry into Trump; Maryland Democrats concur

WASHINGTON – For the fourth time in history, Congress is opening an impeachment inquiry into the president of the United States, an extraordinarily fast-moving development after months of debate among Democrats over whether to proceed with such a constitutionally serious…

Raskin decries administration as Cummings launches new probe into Pence, emoluments

WASHINGTON – The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees have opened investigations into Vice President Mike Pence’s stay at a Trump golf resort during his trip to Ireland this week, the latest inquiry into the administration as Democrats continue to weigh…

Maryland lawmakers blister Trump acts in Mueller report, stop shy of impeachment call

Maryland’s Democratic lawmakers on Thursday expressed outrage at President Donald Trump’s conduct detailed in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report but stopped short of saying whether Congress should initiate impeachment proceedings.

Cohen pulls back curtain on Trump, accuses him of crimes in Oval Office

WASHINGTON – Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, made several damning allegations during his highly-anticipated public hearing Wednesday before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. “I am ashamed of my weakness and misplaced loyalty — of the things…

Maryland legislators disappointed with Trump’s State of the Union address

WASHINGTON – Maryland’s Democratic lawmakers were cold to President Donald Trump’s call for unity in Tuesday’s State of the Union, saying it failed to break any new ground. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Mechanicsville, said he didn’t want to call…

Maryland legislators pleased with shutdown deal, but Democrats hit Trump

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has come to an agreement with Democrats to reopen the government for three weeks. Several Maryland lawmakers quickly responded that they hoped to find a path to avoiding another shutdown. Minutes…

Chesapeake farmers target runoff reduction, lawmakers seek conservation funds

MIDDLETOWN, Maryland — A gaggle of excitable white turkeys gobbled and clucked in their pen at Open Book Farm on a chilly afternoon in late October. Most days, the birds roamed free in one of the farm’s pastures, scratching and…

Once in the majority, House Democrats will work through ‘to do’ list

WASHINGTON – Now that they’ve taken over the House, Democrats will try to follow a party blueprint for action that envisions protecting health care, Medicare and Medicaid, funding improvements to the country’s infrastructure, and creating more jobs. And the likely…